“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” (Matthew 18:8-9)

When I was a young man this Scripture used to scare me.  At that time I wrestled with many impure thoughts and sexual sin.  Had I taken it literally I probably wouldn’t be a father to six kids today.

They said of Origen, one of the early church fathers, that he castrated himself for the gospel’s sake.  He followed a literal interpretation of Matthew 19:12: “For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it].”

Truthfully I don’t know what Jesus meant when he said these things, but I have come to an understanding of them that rests easy in my heart.

I only came to the Lord when I was 32 years old.  Before that I committed a lot of sexual sin.  I was addicted to pornography and going on the internet was especially difficult for me.

When I came to Christ, I still wrestled with my thought life.  What was I to do? Gouge out my eyes or cut off my hands because of these sins in my life?

What we need to do is ask God to show us the things He wishes us to cut off from our lives and how to do it.

For me, the struggle against pornography and sexual sin lessened as I removed a computer from my house.  So there was a season that I lived this way.

If you have trouble with alcohol then cutting off associations with people who would tempt you to drink might be good for a time.  I did that too.

If you have trouble with buying drugs in the city streets, maybe move to the country and live in an isolated place for a time until you are healed of your need for drugs.

By staying away from the places that are associated with your sin, you are lessening the likelihood of these temptations arising in your life.

If you have trouble dealing with a need for power, then perhaps serving the poor, handicapped or needy will help you to overcome this deadly desire.  Perhaps losing yourself in humble circumstances and serving the poor will help you to overcome the need for power.

This is what Saint Francis of Assisi did.  He was a wealthy man and a successful soldier who chose to be poor and weak.  In cutting himself off from the wealth and trappings of man, he became beloved by all.

John 15 that says that every branch that is in Christ is pruned in order to make it more fruitful.  We must remember that it is not by our own effort that we become free from sin.  It is a work of Holy Spirit in our lives.

As we listen to God and do as He says we will be free.  The things that once bound us become easier to deal with as we listen to Him more and more.

It was because of Christ’s work on the cross that we are free.  There is no work of our own that can set us free, but we are free by the Grace of God.

Let God touch your hearts today.  Let Him free you from your sins.  Let Him direct you as to what to cut off and when.

He will help you advance toward your destiny.